Weavers of the Hover Collection
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Emma Pearch (Karuk), birth name Sárukhinva was born at Pearch Creek (later named after John Pearch, her husband) or Cheenitch Creek in 1838, and raised in Orleans (Johnson, 2o15). In the 1850’s, she married John Pearch, an Englishman who came to Orleans to mine for gold (Johnson, 2015). Together they had six children; Dolly, Elsie, Julia, Eli, Katie and one child who died as an infant.
Emma started the basketry collection that would eventually become known as the Hover Collection. “It was natural for Emma to collect baskets. Most of the people who made the baskets lived close by. People got together. Everyone knew everyone else on the River. Baskets were admired and exchanged or offered as gifts” -Lee Hover (Emma’s Great-Grandson) (Johnson, 2015) Johnson, R., Marks, C. K., & Ervin, C. (2015). The Hover Collection. The Clarke Historical Museum. |
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Elsie Pearch Young (1868-1969) married Pedro L. Young, an Englishman born in Spain that was sent to Orleans by a British mining company to manage gold mining in Orleans (Johnson, 2015). Pedro became very influential in Orleans due to major mining and construction projects in the area that he managed (Johnson, 2015). He also appreciated the basketry of the area and together with Elsie they collected and bartered for the most exquisite baskets (Fields, 1985). The Youngs inherited the majority of the family’s basketry and regalia collection and continued to add more to it (Fields, 1985). Elsie managed the family home which also doubled as The Firs hotel, a popular stop for visiting miners (Johnson, 2015). Elsie decorated The Firs with basketry, it covered mantles, tables and even the walls. Elsie spoke fluent Karuk and was known for her ability to handle dugout canoes (Fields, 1985).
Johnson, R., Marks, C. K., & Ervin, C. (2015). The Hover Collection. The Clarke Historical Museum. Fields, Virginia. (1985) The Hover Collection of Karuk Baskets. The Clarke Memorial Museum |
Elsie and Pedro Young, The Clarke Historical Museum Collection
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Julia Pearch Starritt, The Clarke Historical Museum Collection
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Julia Pearch Starritt (1874-1958), birth name Hánuun, married Robert Starritt from Nova Scotia (Johnson, 2015). Robert operated the only saw mill on the Klamath River and was involved with building the first bridge in the area over the Klamath River (Fields, 1985). Julia spoke fluent Karuk and taught her nine children about the importance of their Indigenous heritage (Johnson, 2015). Julia and several other Karuk women worked with William Bright, author of Karok Language, 1957 (Johnson, 2015). Together they translated and explained Karuk stories, fables, and mathematical systems, which Bright recorded (Johnson, 2015).
Johnson, R., Marks, C. K., & Ervin, C. (2015). The Hover Collection. The Clarke Historical Museum. Fields, Virginia. (1985) The Hover Collection of Karuk Baskets. The Clarke Memorial Museum Learn more about Julia Starrritt and listen to some of her recordings by clicking the button below!
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Elsie Starritt Hover (1902-1973) was the daughter of Julia and Robert Starritt. She developed a keen interest in the basketry and regalia that the family had and would soak up as much information about it as possible (Johnson, 2015). Grace Nicholson, a prominent photographer and art dealer, spent a significant amount of time working in the Orleans area. Grace was impressed with Elsie’s interest and ability to learn Karuk culture (Johnson, 2015). Grace encouraged Elsie to go to college and even paid for her education (Johnson, 2015). Elsie graduated from Humboldt State University in 1925 and she taught in local elementary schools for 32 years, utilizing her family’s basketry collection to teach young people about Indigenous history (Johnson, 2015). The Youngs and the Starritts left the family’s basketry and regalia collection in Elsie’s care (Johnson, 2015). Her son Lee Hover, would eventually donate the collection to the Clarke Historical Museum, where it remains today.
Johnson, R., Marks, C. K., & Ervin, C. (2015). The Hover Collection. The Clarke Historical Museum. 
Elsie Hover teaching in Humboldt County
Lee Hover
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Elsie Starritt Hover, The Clarke Historical Museum Collection
Lee Hover (1924-2011) was the son of Elsie and Lee Hover. He grew up in Eureka, but spent summers in Orleans with his grandparents Julia and Robert Starritt. This time gave him a deep connection to his Karuk heritage which he was incredibly proud of. He attended 3rd through 8th grade at a small school in Denny taught by his mother Elsie. When his mother Elsie died in 1972 he was quite concerned about what to do with the collection that was now his. The collection remained in storage for two years, it was then loaned to Cal Poly Humboldt for 10 years in honor of Elsie who was an alumna. Private collectors and the Smithsonian Institution expressed interest in purchasing the collection, Lee recalls “Helen (Lee’s wife) and I really wanted to see the collection remain in Humboldt County. The people who made these baskets are from here. They are the original people. If you take the baskets away from this area, I just don't think they will be truly appreciated”
The Clarke Museum was suggested as a place to protect and display the collection. The museum was unable to meet the appraised price. The Hovers, because of their commitment to preserving this important link in Humboldt county’s history, donated one-third of the value of the collection to the Museum. The Museum, a historic landmark, a Class A building (i.e. non-combustible) and other security measures in place was chosen to be the home of the collections. The Clarke Museum is honored to be a part of this legacy, to care for and share this exquisite collection. Lee stated, “The more we get into this, the better our family feels about it. People have actually stopped me on the street to say how much they appreciate it that the collection is at the museum. This collection is a living memorial to the Karuk basketmakers. We feel confident now that it will be preserved for everyone to enjoy.” Information provided by: Johnson, R., Marks, C. K., & Ervin, C. (2015). The Hover Collection. The Clarke Historical Museum. |
I-tha-evs-shur Nettie Ruben
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Nettie Ruben, birth name I-tha-evs-shur, was born in approximately 1875 in the Somes Bar Orleans area. Her mother, Imogene “Snappy” Truman, birth name Us-na-pe-ta, was a medicine woman and basket weaver, whom she learned her skills from. Nettie was never taken to boarding schools and never learned to read or write in English, she “could speak English but wouldn’t”. She practiced herbal medicine that her mother taught her and retained Karuk language, oral culture, and stories which were eventually recorded by linguist William Bright. Information about Nettie’s life prior to 1908 is extremely limited and largely unknown. Grace Nicholson came to the area and began documenting Indigenous life after 1908, however biographical information is still rare. Nettie married and divorced a few different times, but never had any children of her own.
Nettie is described as being very petite, less than five feet tall with small hands that perhaps aided her in weaving such fine baskets. Unlike other weavers, Nettie preferred to work alone. She had many friends that were themselves master weavers such as Elizabeth Hickox and her daughter Louisa, but chose to work alone. Elsie and Pedro Young must have admired Nettie’s baskets because there are more of her baskets in the collection than from any other weaver. Nettie was an innovative weaver. She added straps or loops to her baskets which would allow buyers to hang them on their walls, something other weavers eventually adopted. With straps, baskets could be used as purses and became very popular with women. Purses, fancy baskets, napkin rings and bottles were often the baskets with her most unusual designs. Nettie would wake up everyday at 4:00AM and would weave all day. She would sell her baskets from her home, she did not sell her baskets through Brizard’s Store or Lord’s General Stores in Orleans as many other weavers did. Nettie still made a considerable amount of money selling baskets. Nonie, Nettie’s niece, recalls “she had woven all her life and made good money. She hid her money and no one ever found it.” According to Nettie’s wishes, when buried “she had certain regalia, five dollar gold pieces over her eyes, mink hair ties and an Indian cap. She was going to see riches in the Afterlife.” Grant Hillman who was an honorary pallbearer and helped bury her also spoke of gold coins in her casket and that she wore a ceremonial cap and was buried with baskets.” Nettie also crocheted, made clothes , arrows and paper flowers. She made everything by hand. After her death in 1957 and before her funeral, her home was robbed and all her baskets, crochet and sewing was taken. Sadly, the collection has never resurfaced. Information provided by: Johnson, et al. Nettie Ruben. |
"Purse" Style Basket by Nettie Ruben, The Hover Collection
Learn more about Nettie Ruben and hear some of her recordings by clicking the button below!
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Polly Conrad Steve
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Polly Conrad Steve, Wiyot, was born in 1848 and was twelve years old at the time of the Tuluwat Island Massacre in February of 1860 (Cohodas, 1997). She was badly wounded during the massacre, but escaped to the Klamath River region and became an expert basketweaver (Rohde, 2025). Years later she was struck by a stray bullet during a violent confrontation between Wiyots and settlers (Cohodas, 1997). She hid under a log with another young girl and when it was safe she dragged herself a significant distance to help (Cohodas, 1997).
When Polly was around eighteen years old she encountered Charles Conrad, a miner of German descent that came to the area from Kentucky (Cohodas, 1997). Polly and her sister were abducted by Charles and his friend, Polly was taken to Karuk lands to live with Charles while her sister was taken to Hoopa, a story widely known in Karuk communities (Cohodas, 1997). In the 1870 U.S. Census, Charles is listed as a miner at Clear Creek and Polly is listed as his housekeeper, two children, Hester and Jerome, are also recorded, Elizabeth was not born until 1872 (Cohodas, 1997). After Charles’ death in 1879, Polly married a Karuk man named Reynolds Creek Steve and began to be known by Polly Steve (Cohodas, 1997). Polly’s life is marked with unimaginable violence and tragedy but her strength and resilience was unwavering. Despite everything she went through, she still held her Indigenous heritage with pride and passed her skills, knowledge and language onto her daughter Elizabeth. She lived in a traditional plank house until her death in 1929 (Cohodas, 1997). Cohodas, M. (1997). Basket weavers for the California Curio Trade: Elizabeth and Louise Hickox. University of Arizona Press ; Southwest Museum. |
Elizabeth Conrad Hickox
Elizabeth Hickox, The Clarke Historical Museum Collections
Lidded Basket by Elizabeth Hickox, The Hover Collection
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Elizabeth Conrad Hickox (1872- 1947) Wiyot,was born to Polly and Charles Conrad in 1872 in Karuk territory, she lived near Somes Bar for the majority of her life (Cohodas, 1997). While still a teenager, Elizabeth married Frank Merrill, a Karuk man from Orleans (Cohodas, 1997). Together they had two children, Jessie (1891) and Bruce, who unfortunately died as a young child (Cohodas, 1997). In 1895, Elizabeth married Luther Hickox and had two children, Louise/Louisa (1896) and Louis who unfortunately died from a falling tree when he was still a child in 1917 (Cohodas, 1997).
Elizabeth became a master weaver, and was considered one of the finest basket-weavers of her time (Cohodas, 1997). She taught her daughter Louise to weave, who also became an extremely talented weaver. She chose to use maidenhair fern, the dark black, in contrast with porcupine quills, the bright yellow, due to her personal preference not market demand (Cohodas, 1997). She perfected the technique of creating three-dimensional knobs on the lids of baskets. She taught her daughter Louisa to weave and gather (Cohodas, 1997). Together Elizabeth and Louisa wove baskets, gathered acorns, operated a mine, shopped for clothes in San Francisco, gave interviews and sang to anthropologists, fished for salmon, and entertained tourists (Cohodas, 1997). In 1908, Grace Nicholson an Art Dealer, Anthropologist, and Photographer came to the region with the goal of collecting basketry (Cohodas, 1997). Grace purchased three baskets that Elizabeth had on hand and made plans for Elizabeth to send her more baskets (Cohodas, 1997). Over the next two years Luther would mail Grace baskets made by Elizabeth, between 1911 and 1917 Grace would make annual trips to Karuk territory to purchase baskets from her (Cohodas, 1997). In 1911, Louisa began to weave and sell her baskets exclusively to Grace Nicholson (Cohodas, 1997). Elizabeth Hickox is considered to be one of the finest weavers of her time. She favored materials such as maidenhair fern and porcupine quills dyed yellow with lichen (Cohodas, 1997). Elizabeth primarily sold baskets to collectors and art dealers (through Grace Nicholson) as works of art meant for display (Cohodas, 1997). Today her baskets are displayed all over the country at prestigious institutions including The National Museum of the American Indian, a Smithsonian Institution in New York City. Cohodas, M. (1997). Basket weavers for the California Curio Trade: Elizabeth and Louise Hickox. University of Arizona Press ; Southwest Museum. |
Elsie McLaughlin
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Elsie was born in Orleans to the Johnny/Johnnie family. Little is known about her early life; by the time she was interviewed by anthropologist Lila O’Neale, she was in her mid sixties. She had married David McLaughlin around 1898, and together they raised seven children, Charles (1899-1991), Stella (1901-1996), Elder (1906-1992), Lottie (1909-1980), Hazel (1911-1964), Talbot (1916-1930), and Edgar (1922-1973). She is known for making very fine small storage baskets. She had a close friendship with Nettie Ruben and adapted some of her designs into her own baskets. Elsie, when interviewed by Lila O’Neale, agreed with other weavers that it was “pretty smart” to weave baskets with unique forms and designs because they were popular to sell to non-native tourists. Elsie taught her daughter, Lottie Beck Karuk language, culture, and basket weaving. Lottie later worked with linguist William Bright to record Karuk oral history and language. This helped to create the Karuk dictionary published by the University of California, Berkeley in 1957, Lottie continued to work with Bright and make updates to the language as it changed after the first publication. The dictionary database is called Ararahih'urípih meaning “Karuk Language Net” and is available online.
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Imkánvaan Phoebe Maddux
Learn more about Imkánvaan Phoebe Maddux and listen to some of her recordings by clicking the button below!
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Phoebe Maddux (Maddox), Karuk name Imkánvaan meaning “wild sunflower greens gatherer” (Bartlett, 2025), was born in 1864 in Ishipishi, directly across from Katimin (Fields, 1985). She was a skilled weaver and medicine woman, but an expert in the Karuk language and grammar (Fields, 1985). From a young age, she took an interest in doctoring and practiced alongside her mother (Lindsay, 2025). She later transitioned to working as a housekeeper and cook for white settler families while raising her children (Lindsay, 2025).
John P. Harrington, a linguist specializing in Indigenous California languages, visited the area and was so struck by Phoebe’s exceptional linguistic knowledge that he invited her to join him at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. in 1928 (Lindsay, 2025). They worked together for ten months on an intensive project to document and record Karuk grammar, language, syntax, and more (Lindsay, 2025). While there, she also provided a step-by-step demonstration of how to weave a tobacco basket (Lindsay, 2025). Phoebe’s knowledge of Karuk language and culture is showcased in the 1932 Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 107 “Karuk Indian Myths” by John P. Harrington (Lindsay, 2025). The invaluable information Phoebe provided has been used to help revitalize Karuk language terms related to basket weaving. Barlett, C., (2025). Personal Communication. Great-Great Granddaughter of Phoebe Maddux Fields, Virginia. (1985). The Hover Collection of Karuk Baskets. The Clarke Memorial Museum. Eureka, Ca |
Susie Jane Pepper
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Susie Jane Pepper (Suzy Jones Pepper), birth name Távahich, which means “hair a little decorated at the ends” in Karuk, was born in 1874. Information about her life is scarce, but what we do know is that by the early 1900’s she had a reputation as an expert cap weaver in the Ti Creek District, north of Somes Bar. Her baskets were regularly sold along the Klamath from Katimin to Inam. In the early 1900’s, Susie was interviewed by anthropologist Lila O’Neale, who remarked that Mrs. Pepper was the only weaver she interviewed who was still making hopper baskets for her own use as well as to sell to other Indigenous women. Susie was also able to weave difficult forms, including teacups and saucers.
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Florence Harrie
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Florence Jacobs Harrie (1889-1981) was born at Katimîin, the Karuk center of the universe. At the age of about 15, she was sent to the Federal Indian Boarding School in Phoenix, AZ. For the next 12 years, Florence resided in an unfamiliar desert environment, separated from her friends and family. Despite this, she maintained mostly happy memories and an enduring fondness for Pre-WWI Arizona. The Lagoon Indian School, in Phoenix, Arizona, opened in 1891. The Lagoon Indian School in Phoenix was the only non-reservation Bureau of Indian Affairs-run school in Arizona. Students were brought from across Arizona, as well as from surrounding states to receive an industrial or domestic education and to assimilate into mainstream culture. Florence returned to her ancestral territory after finishing at the Arizona boarding school. There she learned to gather sticks and weave from master weavers, including Elizabeth Hickox. Florence eventually made her income from weaving and selling baskets in markets and museum gift shops.
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Help Record Their Histories
Carrie Turner
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Amy Smoker
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Nellie Cooper
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Nettie McKinnon
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If you have information to contribute about Carrie Turner, Amy Smoker, Nellie Cooper, Nettie McKinnon, or any other weavers, please contact [email protected].